'They beat my head and stomped on my groin'

Last Sunday the MP Nelson Chamisa was one of 30 people badly beaten in a police attack that has drawn worldwide attention to the brutal regime of Robert Mugabe. Here he tell Andrew Meldrum of his ordeal

'I began protesting Robert Mugabe's government nearly 10 years ago when a student. I was very young then, but I am bearded now and my voice has deepened. But still I was shocked by the savagery. They were not beating only me, they were beating the 30,000 people who voted for me, who voted for change.'

Still in pain, Chamisa was hospitalised for five days after the beatings: 'I was going to the prayer meeting in Highfield, sitting in the back of the car. As soon as we stopped, the police came and said we were in a prohibited area and were under arrest because we were a source of chaos and violence.'

He was taken to Machipisa police station where he found other MPs and MDC supporters already in a cell. 'They clapped to see me and joked that now they have a spokesman. But I told them I heard the police talking in the car that today they are going to teach us a lesson. I feared they were going to torture us.'

Other MDC officials were brought in - Tsvangirai, Lovemore Madhuku, Sekai Holland and Grace Kwinjeh. 'There were 30 of us. We all used our cell phones to tell people we had been arrested and to bring food. Then a gang of about 35 very rowdy police came in. They told us to lie on our stomachs. They beat us with truncheons, metal bars, rifle butts and a sjambok (a short whip).'

'They shouted things like "Mugabe is king of this country. He will die in office. You will die first". They lifted my legs and stomped on my testicles so hard they moved up into my abdomen. I screamed. They beat my back and my head with truncheons. Then I was hit with an iron bar on my buttocks. They used that bar on Morgan and on Grace Kwinjeh. The sjambok is terrible because it rips away your flesh.

'Other police watched as if they were spectators at a wrestling match shouting "Hit him. Make them bleed." They called out Madhuku and made him stand and then beat him badly. Then Grace. They used the iron bar on her head until her ear was flapping. They called my name and I was in the roasting pan. At that point they all went for Tsvangirai, hitting his head so hard his blood flew on the wall. When he fell unconscious they poured water on him and beat him some more.

'Assistant Commissioner Mabunda came in. He congratulated the police on beating us. "These are the ones that are making us give up our leave days and work extra," he said. They ordered me to stand and then hit me down. Then they had us walk single file past them and each officer would hit each one of us as hard as they could. Some had broken bones and had trouble walking, but they would not let us help each other. Then we had to lie on our stomachs again. On your stomachs you cannot see what is happening and what will hit you.

'They ordered us on a truck. I was crawling because I couldn't walk and they taunted me. Morgan was unconscious. Everyone was in bad shape. They drove around and dropped us at various police stations. It was a miracle there was not a single death.'